Stefanos Tsitsipas falls to defeat against Alex Michelsen in Japan Open first round

Stefanos Tsitsipas' difficulties persisted as the Greek fourth seed was eliminated from the Japan Open, suffering a first-round defeat to American Alex Michelsen with scores of 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday.

Despite winning the opening set in Tokyo, Tsitsipas, currently ranked 12th in the world, struggled to respond to his opponent, who is ranked 49th, ultimately losing the match in one hour and 48 minutes.

The two-time Grand Slam finalist also faced a first-round exit at the US Open last month.

Recently, he announced the conclusion of his long-standing coaching relationship with his father, Apostolos.

Following his defeat to Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis at the US Open, Tsitsipas remarked that he felt "nothing compared to the player I was before," attributing his struggles to "long-term burnout."

Once ranked third in the world, Tsitsipas has fallen out of the top 10 and has secured only two titles over the past two seasons.

Michelsen advanced to the second round of the Japan Open, where he was joined by Britain's Jack Draper, a US Open semi-finalist, who triumphed over Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci with a score of 6-4, 6-2.

American Tommy Paul, the fifth seed, defeated Italy's Matteo Arnaldi with a score of 6-3, 6-2.

In a closely contested match, Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka narrowly overcame Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, winning 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-6(5) in a match that lasted three hours and 12 minutes.

SportsLigue